Men of Principle

By

Harvey Mansfield

Updated Oct. 31, 1997 12:09 a.m. ET

It's hardly news that in our time some Americans have taken to accusing the Founders of their country of hypocrisy. It is alleged that the Founders said one thing and did another. They said in the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal." But through prejudice or personal interest, they failed to deliver on that noble principle. Instead of setting a good example as an authority should do, they set a bad one. We today, therefore, can do without them.